Parque Patagonia Argentina works alongside Parque Patagonia Chile in a major conservation effort – Rewilding. The park is 528.1 km² and covers a great deal of protected land. There are many national and privately owned parks within Patagonia, so much of the land is protected for wildlife to survive. Parque Patagonia Argentina used to be owned by the once owner of The North Face, Douglas Tompkins and the Tompkins Conservation Foundation. It has since been donated to the Chilean state meaning it is now a public park.
Rewilding Project
“Our goal is to conserve and restore key natural ecosystems in the Patagonian Steppe while supporting the local communities through nature and tourism.”
The rewilding project is re-introducing many animals back into the parque, one of which is Huemul (a native deer species) that were historically native to the land. It is unknown why the deer left hundred of years ago. The conservation effort is working to reverse the extinction crises and recover functional ecosystems.
Hiking
There are so many hikes in the area for all capabilities. When passing through the gateway into the park stop at the information centre and sign in. Here they can give you plenty of information about all the hikes.
Tierra de Colores which translates to land of colour is a moderately easy hike just off the highway that takes around an hour. A great loop track that brought us round the bottom of the small mountains with a short but fairly steep incline. Bursting with vibrant colours Tierra de Colores soon comes into view. Taking a little rest and some photos at the viewing platform before continuing the ascent. A staircase took us further up as we wound round the mountains to see the colourful ripples from different angles. There is a sweeping panoramic view once you reach the top. An easy decent begins down the narrow gravel paths but we did need to be careful of the sheer drops.
Cuevas de las Manos
Driving about 30km into the park we found the starting point for the Cuevas de los Manos hike. Roughly an hour each way this hike is much more difficult. With 300 stairs down and 200 stairs up with steep hills just to reach the caves it is a rather strenuous hike. The first set of steps came quickly, winding down, leading us through a tall and narrow passageway through the cliffs. Opening up into a small plateau the trail zig-zags down the mountain with glorious views of the canyon and caves opposite. Reaching the second set of winding stairs we descended onto the valley floor. Here you can follow several trails to hikes along the canyon following the river.
We crossed the canyon enjoying the short respite of a flat trail and trees for shade. The vivd green green leaves had a cooling and energising effect as we crossed the river and passed the picnic benches ready for our incline. On our way back we stopped here for a little rest and dunked our feet in the cool waters.
Approaching the third set of stairs we were ready to power on through. The incline isn’t as steep on this side as we snaked along the plateau. Climbing a few stairs carved from the rock there are again wonderful views of the canyon. Eventually we reached the 4th and final set of stairs that lead directly to the caves. Here we enjoyed a spectacular hour tour to then return the way we came. Click here to learn more about Cueva de las Manos.
Camping
Within Parque Patagonia Argentina it is forbidden to free camp but there are a couple of paid campsites available. We spent two nights at La Senalada campsite, a quaint little site nestled in the hills protecting us from the wind. Though on the Parque Patagonia website it does suggest booking via email (cltlasenalada@gmail.com) 15 days before your trip we were lucky enough to have just turned up and there was availability.
Guanacos (llamas) and choique (emus) roam free throughout the parque and we saw several within the campsite too. Given the location, being so far away from any town or city it is ideal for stargazing.
The office where you log in and pay also doubles as a lovely little restaurant with delicious home made food. After our hike we were ravenous and ordered the tortilla (a potato and egg dish baked in the oven) which was muy rico!
Planetarium
On our way through the park we stopped at the planetarium skilfully camouflaged in the hills. It is currently free but I believe it won’t be for long, with tourists set to pay higher prices than locals though I’m unsure of what the cost will be. The Planetarium has a brilliant interactive museum. Starting with the big bang the exhibits took us through the evolution of life over thousands of years. With videos stressing the dire world situation and how we can help protect it. An interactive exhibit with the sounds of birds and other animals took us on a journey through the natural world of Parque Patagonia Argentina.
At the centre of the building is the planetarium, a globe shaped room with viewings in both Spanish and English. The display took us through the night sky over Parque Patagonia Argentina focusing on Orians belt, Taurus and other surrounding constellations. We learned about the history and meaning of these constellations.
Animals
As well as the many guanacos and choiques, there is so much wildlife to see within the park. From chinchillas to wild cats (gato del pajonal) to foxes ( zorro colorado) and eagles. You may even come across a puma but not to worry we were given some sound advice if we were to cross paths. Firstly ‘this is an uncommon yet unique experience that you should try to enjoy’. Then you should raise your hands to appear bigger and walk away slowly.
Don’t forget to follow us on
Leave a Reply